#6. What is your business / operations / sustainability model?

We will be generating revenue through grants that seek to make sustainability education more widespread, and in addition to this, we will be relying on corporate sponsorships, as well as subscription fees for the app that will be paid by the Kazakh government. By design, the team is looking to secure multiple sources of revenue stream to make the app more affordable for institutions.  To minimize the subscription cost, Save Tuba will secure corporate sponsors who are trying to create an image of being green, which will yield both financial support and good will for the venture.

To increase the probability for sponsorships, the app will be personalized to its region. Creating a targeted app will make the app more compelling for school administrators and school-aged children will find it engaging and relatable to complete the tasks. But most importantly, we can tap into local businesses who would be willing to invest into our project so that the tasks inside the app also have a connection to the local business.  Thus, increasing the probability for sponsorships. 

To encourage continued interest with the app, there will be special weekly or seasonal in app events which will have tasks that give certain sponsored companies exposure. Additionally, there will be a store for the Save Tuba character “Tuba” where students can buy shirts and hats in exchange for coins they collect by completing levels. Some of the merchandise will be “sponsored” and available during the special events or can be exchanged using coins.

The revenue will allow the team to provide salaries for a CEO, who will be responsible for recruiting sponsors and managing our relationship with the Ministry of Education.  Additionally as the venture grows (at 40 schools and then at 60 schools), two Managers will be hired to offload some of the support provided by the CEO.  The Managers will serve as trainers and support for the teachers on how to use the app.  We will also be paying a teacher at every school – a Save Tuba Ambassador, a stipend to serve as the first point of contact for their fellow teachers using the app at each school.  Their role includes clarifying information within the app for the students, troubleshooting basic tech issues, and assisting teachers with the small group and large group Action Tasks. Incentivizing a few teachers in each school to become the apps ambassador in their respective institution will help create a foothold for our project and will help us train new teachers quickly and efficiently. Finally, we have expenses allocated towards a programmer, who is going to be updating the app, as well as server and marketing costs.

The subscription costs are not final, since at this stage of our venture we are not sure how many schools we are going to be reaching out to. Once we develop a clearer idea, we are going to have to revise our business model.

#7. What is your scale-up strategy? Explain with clear financial and social value projections.

As shown in our Income Statement (pictured above), the scale-up strategy includes a growth timetable of 10 schools in year #1, 20 in year #2, 40 in year #3, 60 in year #4, and 80 in year #5. To support the growth, a Manager will be added to the staff at the year #3 (when we reach 40 schools) and again in year #4 (when we reach 60 schools).  As shown, the steady growth of subscription fees ($200/school) will be used to invest back into the venture.  Another critical staffing design is the paid Teacher Ambassador at each school. Naming a teacher from each building to serve as a liaison will pay dividends beyond the financial cost of the stipend.  The venture will be able to capitalize on the trust that fellow teachers have with their Teacher Ambassadors.

#8. What is your implementation plan? What is your “go to market” strategy? Please provide a specific timeline.

As of Summer 2021, Save Tuba has begun communications with the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Ties from within the ministry have had a chance to look at a running version of the fifth level, and have requested to view the full curriculum, which is a meeting that will be set up in the near future. In other words, having now established connections with the Ministry, they will offer more detailed feedback on how we can modify the app to cater their interests. Once we produce our final version of the app, we will implement it into middle-school curricula under the supervision and guidance of the Ministry. 

In the meantime, we will finalize coding for all levels during the Spring 2022 semester. The beta version of the app will be used to conduct focus groups with teachers and students during the Summer 2022. The focus groups will help the team collect user input that can be factored in the updated version provided to the Ministry for implementation. These processes were active over the Spring 2021 semester during our “alpha version” stage, and we hope to recommence them once we have all six levels of the app running and ready for user feedback. The final version of the app will be based on the feedback that we receive from these focus groups (in addition to the Ministry’s input from the beta version that will be ready to implement in 10 schools in January 2023).

#9. What does success look like for all the stakeholders? What are your metrics of success? How will you measure impact?

If our venture succeeds, in three years, we will have raised awareness about the various environmental issues that Kazakhstan is facing, helped students become more knowledgeable about what they can do to save their environment, changed the sustainability paradigm in Kazakhstan to a large capacity, and have set a precedent that will encourage other schools across Kazakhstan to incorporate sustainability education into their curricula. 

We will be using a variety of different metrics to gauge the success of our venture, such as keeping track of the number of schools and students that use the app, and discerning any change in sustainable behavior among the students in the schools we’re targeting in the short term, as well as following a potential change in sustainable behavior among the general Kazakh population in the long term.

Living an Impact-Focused Life

What’s your Why?

I believe I was put on this earth to…help others.  For me, helping others can be the work that I do on a daily basis to improve our public K-12 educational system.  At a more granular level, helping others can be seen in my efforts to to assist individuals that I encounter  during my “regular” day.  I find myself stepping in to help with things like translating for someone having difficulty communicating in English, stop to help the person on the side of the road with a flat tire, or helping an elderly person at the grocery store carry their groceries to their care.  I instinctively step forward to help.

My purpose is to…serve.

I believe (my core values)…Assist, Collaborate, and Serve. Central to my philosophy is the importance of building a culture of excellence with others to deliver high-quality service to the thousands of children and families served.

The one thing I must do before I die is…?  I do not have a pending list of things that I must do before I die.  I try to live my life to the fullest, everyday.  I work towards making everyday better than the day before for the people that I serve and my loved ones.

My advocates and supporters all believe that I…am a hard worker and a role model for others.  They believe that I am a man of his word.

The evil I want to eradicate in this world are…the roadblocks often put in front of children of color that makes their journey in life more challenging than their white counterparts.

I want to work in order to…help children and their families experience a positive, supportive, and nurturing learning experience.

Walk the Talk – Your How

If you are truly committed to your Why, you show it in your everyday behavior. It is all air until you do it. Working from your Why, How do you prove that you are true to your Why in all you do?

I always…treat others with respect, volunteer to serve, and look for ways to grow/develop myself, and hold myself to higher standard.

I never…not follow-through, disrespect others, or drop the ball (on purpose).

My work style is…to be positive/constructive, punctual, inclusive, honest, and direct.

I try to treat people…as I would like to be treated, or better!

I approach problems by…brainstorming all possible solutions alone or with others.

Victories are time to…pause, reflect, and celebrate with the team who helped with the accomplishment.

If someone attacks my point of view I…first listen, then ask for understanding why they have a different perspective, reflect to see if I can truly see their perspective – if I determine that it could be fruitful debate, will offer my thoughts.  If not, simply stay silent and thank them for their opinion.

If I fundamentally do not agree with what an organization or person is doing, I will…ask for permission to share and share my opinion and respectfully share my opposing views.  I always speak the truth, even if not the popular thing to do.

 Your Credibility – Your Whats

You have spent some considerable time at Lehigh, and specifically in the Global / Lehigh Valley Social Impact Fellowship, on many whats. Your whats include lab research, formal presentations, writing research papers, engaging with people in other cultural contexts, building prototypes, designing and building systems, raising funds, hiring employees, etc. The whats you have collected along the way are critical to your credibility when you are entering the workforce or applying to the best graduate and professional schools. They signify a credible currency to which organizations can assign value. Create a list of your Whats that are truly reflective of your Why & How. You did these things because you believe (Why) and you acquired them in the following (How) manner. These are examples you can use in interviews.

Articulating and learning from G/LVSIF-related Experiences. For each of these prompts, we want you to identify one and only one specific and compelling event/incident/experience/moment and identify exactly how you grew personally and professionally through that moment.

Draw Your Life

What’s Your True North?

Create the story of your life. How do you want to contribute to the world through your talents, passions, and unique strengths? Think about your values, the roles you play, what gives you a sense of purpose, and ultimately, what you have to offer by being your best, authentic self. Draw a picture of your life as you envision it. Be remarkable. Be yourself.

by: Diana Shaipi, Rubiat Faisal, Yamil Sanchez

Develop the “system stack” for your project.

For each of the systems principles discussed and described in the article “Relevance of Systems Thinking”, give one compelling example of how your project system describes or encapsulates that principle.

1. Tenet 1 – Interdependence: The Save Tuba venture is interconnected in various ways.  Two specific examples are the relationships between the Lehigh and Almaty University teams and the potential long-term relationship with the Ministry of Education.  With both examples, there is a “mutually beneficial and reciprocal relationship” between the groups.  As the Lehigh team works with the AlmatyU team, progress in the app development by the Lehigh team is in part as a result of input and support from the Almaty team.  Progress with the venture is a cyclical loop that leads to learning and growth of both teams.  The Save Tuba and Ministry of Education’s relationship is also an example of how the success of one is interdependent on the other.  As the team moves forward with finalizing a fully functional app, the Ministry is more apt to help move the venture forward to scale.  Access to all public schools is interdependent on the Save Tuba team delivering a tool that the Ministry can confidently promote across Kazakhstan.
2. Tenet 2 – Holism: The Save Tuba app is composed of six independent, yet related concepts.  Students, with teacher guidance, can easily navigate through each level.  However, the full benefit of the app is the sum of the learnings acquired from experiencing and traveling through all six levels.  By design, each level will take students through independent, small group, and whole group learning experiences.  The sum of those parts within each of the six levels weave the most benefit compared to knowledge from the individual parts.  Additionally, the comprehensive learning from the 6 levels (concepts), will provide the user with the most holistic learning experience.
3. Tenet 3 – Multifinality: As part of our venture, we collaborated with AlmatyU students to conduct virtual focus groups with students and teachers.  As is good practice with a focus group, a standard set of questions were designed and used to facilitate a consistent conversation across the various focus groups held.  The end result, however, was different from each group.  The planning and planned inputs were the same but the information shared by participants and the level of engagement was different from the various groups.  Another example of Multifinality that the Save Tuba venture will experience will be the final outcome with the desired behavior change of the participants after completing the full game app experience.  The gamified experience is tailored to educate students with principles of sustainable behavior.  The desired outcome is for students (and their immediate network) to adopt more sustainable practices in their daily lives.  The reality, however, will be a spectrum of behaviors that span the gamut of actual behavior change (from no change to environmental/sustainable advocates!).
4. Tenet 4 – Equifinality: Save Tuba’s end goal is to make an impact on Kazakhstan’s recycling rate.  Our end goal is to see the rate move from 11.5% to 40%.  To help accomplish that goal, the gamified app helps teach students sustainability concepts that are reinforced with engaging, action oriented tasks.  All lessons lead students (and their network) to put what they learn into practice which helps improve environmental conditions in their immediate communities.  To reach as many students/households as possible, the Save Tuba team is partnering with various organizations in hopes of having as much access to students/teachers/schools as possible.  The various modes (working with Almaty Management University AND cultivating a partnership with both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Ecology) is our attempt to create multiple channels that help us reach our desired end goal.  The various means to access students/teachers/schools will converge our efforts to create impact at the national scale.
5. Tent 5 – Differentiation: Multiple groups in the Save Tuba play a unique role in the progression of the project.  Our partners at AlmaU helps the venture by facilitating and organizing focus groups with teachers and students.  They help translate questions asked to the teachers and students and acts as an important contact point to Kazakhstan.  In our Lehigh team, Yamil coordinates and co-conducts all the focus groups along with handling all the administrative responsibilities . Our design team creates all the graphics and creates the scripts for the app.  The coding team codes all the content into the app and comes up with new ideas on how to make the app more interactive and user friendly.  
6. Tent 6 – Regulation: Feedback from the users is a key way of regulating the app. Our team conducted several focus groups with teachers and students and with their inputs, our team added new improvements.  The Ministry of Education showed interest in implementing the app to the curriculum which will also ensure the caters to both the governmental and user needs. 
7. Tenet 7 – Abstraction: The Save Tuba venture will add a new mode of education that will open doors to more possibilities.  The app will have many real life activities relating to recycling and sustainability that will teach the school aged students how pollution works and how we can contribute in preventing it from happening.  Good habit building will in turn result in an increase in recycling rate which is the main goal of our venture.
8. Tenet 8 – Leverage Points: The increasing number of young phone users is one of the key leverage Save Tuba has.  Save Tuba has partnered with AlmaU who is helping us conduct focus groups in Kazakhstan and translating scripts.  The Education Ministry has shown interest in incorporating the app into the curriculum which will help us reach a broader audience.  Nazarbayev foundation and UNICEF have also shown interest in working with our venture.  The Nazarbayev foundation will help us reach to rural places and UNICEF will help us get contents that we can incorporate into our app.

Telling the Story of our Work

Story Element #1: Attention-getters – come up with FIVE possible attention-getters to set the tone.

1. Create a short video/commercial similar to the large scale US anti-narcotics commercial but instead deliver the message of “This is your Saiga on clean air, This is your Saiga on polluted air.”
2. Show a time lapse video of Saiga being born as a way to grab the audience’s attention and set the tone for the importance of sustainable behavior that is needed to Save Tuba!
3. Show the leaderboard with the names of students changing in real-time as they compete to be the top player.
4. Play testimonials of teachers speaking about how the app has helped them with delivering instruction and engaging students.
5. Play a looping slideshow of pictures of the students, their families, and community engaging in the Level 4 and 5 Action Tasks.

Story Element #2: The Challenge – come up with FIVE ways to state or frame the problem as a world-level challenge.

1. Animal, plant and human life are all dependent on a cleaner environment.
2. Teaching is a universal responsibility for educators around the world to master.
3. Every student should be afforded a high-quality learning experience. 
4. How can we make learning fun? Consider using a gamified app to engage students in learning and develop sustainable habits.
5. Recycling does the planet good.  Pass it on! 

Story Element #3: The Journey – come up with a short paragraph that explains your methodology in an active, action-oriented way.

Our work on the Save Tuba app mirrors a game of baseball, where the individual team members are taking a turn at bat to get on base (create a design, collect feedback, code a game are examples of making a “hit run”).  The collected effort of our batters helps the venture move along the bases to hopefully score a run.  As the members continue to take an attempt at getting a hit, we sometimes score a “double”, “triple”, or even a homerun!  Our coding efforts have fumbled and struck out at times, but those “players” continue to line up to bat and have been able to get hits to get them on first base.  As a team, the venture is making progress and looking for the game winning grand slam!

Story Element #4: The Battle – come up with a short paragraph that describes how, with the help of your allies (partners), you have or will overcome the challenge.

Save Tuba success is connected to the collaboration with AlmaU, one of our most critical partners.  We rely on their assistance for access to students and teachers that provide feedback on our design and curriculum via surveys and focus groups. AlmaU has helped overcome the challenge of access to these two very important groups.  Additionally, the content for the app is created in English.  The users, however, read/speak Russian or Kazakh.  No one on our team is able to speak or write in Russian or Kazakh, so the Almau team has served as both translators of all our written content and interpreters during the virtual focus groups.  Their command of the three languages is a critical skill that has helped us overcome the language hurdle.

Story Element #5: The Change – come up with THREE different ways to state the solution/outcome/catharsis of the story.

1. Save Tuba will revolutionize teaching and learning related to sustainable curriculum!
2. Almaty/Kazakhstan will help wildlife survive and see their environment reinvigorated and blossom.
3. Save Tuba will help students be eager and enjoy Ecology lessons and becoming sustainable ambassadors throughout their communities.

History of the Future

What will the world look like if your project fully succeeds? What will people be doing differently? How will they feel differently?

The world (in this case, Kazakhstan) will look cleaner!  The ultimate goal of Save Tuba is to improve the recycling rates in Kazakhstan from 11.5% to 40%.  Success for us will be to reach (better yet, surpass) the 40% recycling rate! That change will yield a vibrant environment that supports the plant and animal life currently in jeopardy as a result of the high waste and pollution in the environment. A fully successful project will mean more people are Recycling, Reusing, and Reducing their carbon footprint. The change in human behaviors will also have a positive impact in how they feel about the environment they live in.

To our partners, specifically the Ministry of Ecology, success equates to accomplishing their national goal related to recycling!  For the leadership partners from Almaty Management University, our success will be a big win for the university.  They would be able to promote the success to grow their reputation and use it as a strategy to attract students.

What will the world look like if your project fails?  Who will notice? Who will feel the effects?

Dark and gloomy – (literally)!  The negative effects of a low recycling rate will continue to give rise to polluted air and livable conditions for plant and animal life. The beautiful Saiga, which depends on clean water streams, air, and food sources will further be at risk of being extinct. 

Our partners risk damaging their brand, reputation and credibility if the project fails.  The project can be defined as a high benefit/high risk venture since the pay off related to success and the repercussions connected with failure are both significant.  Ultimately, whether the venture is successful or fails, our collective efforts will help make a change with sustainable behaviors.

Our Save Tuba partners…

How would we organize these potential partnerships in terms of the purpose they serve and the value they create? And, in simple words explain how it would work.

For each partner…

• Why should they partner with you?
• Inputs: What do they contribute/invest?
• Outputs: What they receive in return?
• How will you go about building the partnership?

Our dream: Save Tuba app will serve as the mode to teach sustainable behaviors with the ultimate goal of increasing recycling rates in Almaty/Kazakhstan from 11% to 40%. 

To accomplish this goal, we will lean of strategic partners at each of the following phases:

• Phase 0 Partners – the planning and creation stage: Alpha
• Phase 1 Partners – the testing phase stage: Beta
• Phase 2 Partners – the pilot phase: roll out in select schools
• Phase 3 Partners – the launch phase! Expand to larger number of schools
• Phase 4 Partners – Steady state: taking Save Tuba to scale!

Phase 0 Partners – the planning and creation stage: Alpha

• American Councils for International Education (Outreach)
  • Why should they partner with you?
    • The Save Tuba venture aligns with the American Councils’ vision to “empower individuals and institutions to address challenges in a diverse and interconnected world.”
  • Inputs: What do they contribute/invest?
    • American Councils created a promotional video that is helping tell our story and promote our venture.
  • Outputs: What do they receive in return?
    • The Save Tuba venture aids their focus “to advance scholarly research and cross-border learning through the design and implementation of educational programs grounded in key world languages, cultures, and regions.”  Additionally, the American Councils for International Education supports Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, one of the two SDGs that American Councils supports Quality Education – Goal #4.  The Save Tuba is a tool they can promote aimed at improving the quality of education for children in Kazakhstan.
  • How will you go about building the partnership?
    • A partnership was established by the first year team members, which resulted in the creation of a video with the second year Lehigh and AlmaU members.  You can view the 2 minutes and 25 seconds video here: American Councils Video

• Almaty Management University (Outreach & Knowledge)
  • Why should they partner with you? 
    • The Save Tuba venture provides a great learning and development opportunity for AlmaU students. The international partnership with an US university also provides an opportunity for Almaty Management University to distinguish themselves from other higher education institutions in Kazakhstan.
  • Inputs: What do they contribute/invest?
    • The AlmaU students provide direct assistance with promoting the venture on social media, translating all content from English to Russian and Kazakh, and recruit participants for feedback via surveys and focus groups.  AlmaU provides important information, insight, and knowledge about the Kazakh people and their culture. Additionally, the university provides a faculty advisor to support the AlmaU students and connect the venture with their academic program.
  • Outputs: What they receive in return?
    • AlmaU students experience an enriched learning experience, an opportunity to further develop their English language skills, extensive experience with interpreting and translation, and the opportunity to be part of a team developing an app that will impact the lives of students all over Kazakhstan.
  • How will you go about building the partnership?
    • Leveraging relationships developed by our advisor, the initial Save Tuba team established a regular working relationship with AlmaU students.  The current Save Tuba team formalized a meeting structure and regular communication between the two teams.

Phase 1 Partners – the testing phase stage: Beta

• Ministry of Education (Credibility; Access to markets and customers; Social capital and Political capital)
  • Why should they partner with you?
    • The Save Tuba app provides an innovative tool to help teach lessons connected to their ecology curriculum. The ultimate goal of the app is to change behaviors that result with an increase of recycling rates from 11% to 40%. This impact in recycling rates is an effort that the Kazakhstan government has invested time and funds in but has not seen a significant change.
  • Inputs: What do they contribute/invest?
    • A partnership with the Ministry of Education would provide multiple benefits for the venture. In addition to significantly elevating the venture’s credibility, the partnership would open the door to schools, access to administrators, teachers and students.  Testing of the Beta version would be facilitated with an endorsement from the Ministry of Education – minimizing the struggles of identifying focus group participants and anticipated difficulty with securing participating schools.  Additionally, the Ministry of Education will help with potential funding and access to other government leaders to expand support for the venture.
  • Outputs: What they receive in return?
    • The Ministry of Education would have access to a modern, innovative teaching tool for their teachers.  Additionally, the partnership with Lehigh University may elevate the status of the Ministry’s education for forging an international partnership that impacts both Ministry of Education and other government office goals (ie recycling rates).
  • How will you go about building the partnership?
    • Our project mentor has done extensive work to cultivate a relationship with Ministry of Education representatives.  In conjunction with AlmaU colleagues, in-country meetings are being developed to solidify a partnership and more clearly define ways to work together.

• Ministry of Ecology (Credibility)
  • Why should they partner with you?
    • Similar to the Ministry of Education, the Save Tuba app provides a mode to help accomplish their goals.  The Ministry of Ecology has a wide level of responsibility related to environmental protection, waste management, protection of water supply, sanitation, forestry, and conservation – to name a few.  All of these topics are addressed by the various lessons and/or action tasks in the app.
  • Inputs: What do they contribute/invest?
    • Credibility!  A partnership with the Ministry of Education would provide one of the ultimate seals of approval related to the content.  The Ministry of Education is able to minimize challenges to working in all schools.  The Ministry of Ecology offers us the opportunity to have an app the people of Kazakhstan would respect and value since it would have been vetted by leaders of the government responsible for this content.
  • Outputs: What they receive in return?
    • The Ministry of Ecology would be better positioned to reach their recycling rate goals. The national policy regarding waste management and transitioning the country to a green economy plans to increase the recycling rates to at least 40 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050.
  • How will you go about building the partnership?
    •  Our project mentor has begun the work necessary to cultivate a relationship with the Ministry of Ecology.  In conjunction with AlmaU colleagues, in-country meetings are being developed to establish a partnership.

• Almaty Management University (Outreach and Access to markets and customers)
  • Why should they partner with you?
    • The Save Tuba venture provides a great learning and development opportunity for AlmaU students. The international partnership with an US university also provides an opportunity for Almaty Management University to distinguish themselves from other higher education institutions in Kazakhstan.
  • Inputs: What do they contribute/invest?
    • The AlmaU students provide direct assistance with promoting the venture on social media, translating all content from English to Russian and Kazakh, and recruit participants for feedback via surveys and focus groups.  AlmaU provides important information, insight, and knowledge about the Kazakh people and their culture. Additionally, the university provides a faculty advisor to support the AlmaU students and connect the venture with their academic program.
  • Outputs: What they receive in return?
    • AlmaU students experience an enriched learning experience, an opportunity to further develop their English language skills, extensive experience with interpreting and translation, and the opportunity to be part of a team developing an app that will impact the lives of students all over Kazakhstan.
  • How will you go about building the partnership?
    • Leveraging relationships developed by our advisor, the initial Save Tuba team established a regular working relationship with AlmaU students.  The current Save Tuba team formalized a meeting structure and regular communication between the two teams.

• Nazarbayev Schools and Public Schools (Knowledge and Access to customers)
  • Why should they partner with you?
    • The Save Tuba app will offer various benefits to their teaching and learning experience and capabilities, which include:
      1. a fun way to learn and to engage in sustainability actions
      2. an interactive way to engage in the classroom rather than the standard lectures and tests
      3. Action tasks to apply knowledge to practice by taking what they learn on the app into their local communities in order to make them greener
      4. a valuable tool and effective strategy to help deliver instruction
  • Inputs: What do they contribute/invest?
    • The schools would provide the students and teachers necessary to use the app and conduct the action tasks.
  • Outputs: What they receive in return?
    • Similar to the reason for partnering with us, the benefits listed above provide a description of what they specifically receive in return.
  • How will you go about building the partnership?
    • Our current efforts have been to work via established contacts from AlmaU.  Moving forward, our approach will be to work with the Ministry of Education.  Part of the partnership with the Ministry of Education will include providing access to the schools/teachers/students. 

How will we leverage various types of organizations to advance the larger dream behind your project?

Organization types –

Nonprofits:

Kazakhstan Foundation for Cultural, Social, and Educational Development (KFCSED) is a nonprofit organization based in Almaty that was founded in December 1999 with the goal of implementing social initiatives in order to encourage women’s development. Their goal to drive social change is focused on three key pillars: 1) empowering women by providing them education, 2) promoting the idea of social responsibility, and 3) strengthening civic engagement. Although Save Tuba is not a gender specific venture, our project shares the goal of using the app to impact the broader community and emphasize the importance of a shared social responsibility and greater civic engagement to improve the quality of life through sustainable behaviors.  KFCSED has multiple initiatives – Impactum is one that specifically works with students to teach them how to turn an idea into a community initiative. Students are able to respond to the social challenges that affect their community. A partnership with KFCSED can help with the planning and execution of one of our AT 5 activities. This partnership would be a direct support to operationalizing one aspect of Save Tuba that happens outside of the app and classroom setting.

Foundations

The following two foundations in Kazakhstan have missions that align to the goals of our venture. As such, they are potential foundations for the team to work on cultivating a relationship with in hopes of ultimately submitting a funding request. The Save Tuba venture will need local financial supporters to sustain the business model. 

1. Social Corporate Foundation. The Mission of SCF is to promote the development of significant initiatives and non-profit projects, increase the activity of the population in solving their own problems through the implementation of comprehensive educational, information and consulting programs. The extended reach to the community via the Level 5 Action Tasks creates the opportunity for the locals to be part of addressing and resolving the large-scale community issue related to pollution.
2. Foundation Of The First President Of The Republic Of Kazakhstan — Elbasy. More closely connected to our venture’s immediate target audience, their mission is “to develop the limitless potential of our society, helping talented young people and supporting social projects of public interest.” The Save Tuba project aims to educate students with information and knowledge on sustainable behaviors and then use that knowledge to have a direct impact in the community via the Action Tasks. The ATs will facilitate the transfer of knowledge into practice for the students and the public as they make a positive impact on a real social problem in their community.

Academia

Almaty Management University (AlmaU). The Save Tuba team has established a strong

 partnership with AlmaU during the last two years. AlmaU students collaborate with the Lehigh team on the app design and validation efforts. In addition to translating all app content, surveys, and focus groups questions, the AlmaU team facilitates the focus groups with Kazakh students and teachers. Our partnership with AlmaU is a strength as it provides a known and respected organization within Kazakhstan. Additionally, our partnership with a local higher education institution provides needed credibility that will help our efforts to take our app to scale. AlmaU’s involvement also helps our efforts to grow the pool of partners with similar reputations and ability to make an impact at the population level. 

K-12 System

Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan – The ultimate goal for Save Tuba is to collaborate with all schools in Kazakhstan to implement the app. Our initial plans include rolling the app in the once capital city of Almaty. To be able to execute at scale and better ensure sustainability of the app, the team is actively pursuing establishing a partnership with the Ministry. A partnership with the Ministry will also provide needed guidance related to the curriculum. The team has developed a scope and sequence that captures a varied list of sustainability topics, which can be refined in partnership with content experts from the Ministry. 

Part 1: Ethical Decision-Making

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible. Clearly state the ethical issue. 

• HIV/AIDS is prominent in the region and the risk of transmission to a child increases over time during prolonged breastfeeding. 
• Scientific research shows that gruel does not provide some key nutrients.
• Approximately 500 women from three contiguous sub-locations are interested in being part of the cooperative.
• Gruel is currently integrated into a child’s diet until about two years old to supplement breastfeeding. 
• Pesticides are typically used to grow some of the crops used in the porridge.
• The goal of the cooperative is to:
  • 1) Improve the nutritional status of children
  • 2) improve the livelihoods of rural households

Ethical Issue: how to wean mothers from breastfeeding their children after the of 6 months to minimize the risk of transmitting HIV while simultaneously encouraging mothers to feed porridge instead of the trusted gruel despite the use of pesticides in the current cash crops.

Step 2: Define the Stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome.

• Mothers in East Africa 
• Infants/children
• We/Us/Me/Donor
• The Cooperative

Step 3: Assess the motivations of the Stakeholders 

• Mothers in East Africa 
  • Personal 
    • To not transfer HIV/AIDS to their children, to ensure their children are fed nutrition foods for growth and development, to have some level of breastfeeding and bonding in that way with their child, to create an income and food source for the family
  • Professional
    • To produce shelf-stable porridge, to make money for their families through this venture, and to grow/learn as entrepreneurs
• Infants/children
  • Personal: 
    • to be fed, to not contract HIV/AIDS
  • Professional: 
    • not applicable
• We/Us/Me
  • Personal
    • To feed the individual ego as a result of helping others; feel good for doing good
  • Professional
    • To make an impact on the health and well-being of infants/children and mothers in East Africa 
    • You want to be successful to increase your chance of getting more grants 
• Cooperative
  • Personal
    • Ensure everyone’s children of the Cooperative are fed, support mothers grow the crops needed to create a healthier meal (porridge vs. gruel) to impact growth of children, and help minimize the spread of HIV to children 
  • Professional 
    • Produce enough supplies for the porridge
    • Want to be economically viable 
• Donor
  • Personal
    • To have a good result, increasing their positive presence and ego as an organization 
    • To grow the agency’s Goodwill
  • Professional 
    • To spark self-sufficiency efforts with families in East Africa
    • To fund efforts that decrease HIV rates of children in East Africa
    • To have that experience and have that enable future involvement in cooperatives similar to this one

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, using basic ethical core values as a guide.

Potential solution #1: Do nothing other than establishing the cooperative.

• Ethical Principle or code: Consequence based thinking 

• Pros
  • Help with livelihoods of those in the cooperative
  • Make an impact on the growth of the children who consume the more nutritious porridge
  • The risk from pesticides is less than the transmission of HIV/AIDS from prolonged breastfeeding

• Cons
  • Fails to make an impact on reducing the possibility of HIV+ mothers transmitting the virus to their infant children

Potential solution #2: Incorporate the porridge (made with locally grown vegetables/fruits) into the current gruel to make it more familiar but have a new and improved gruel that provides nutrients and protects from the transmission of HIV/AIDS. 

• Ethical Principle or code: Consequence based thinking 

• Pros
  • Allows for women to continue feeding their children a slightly altered version of what they are familiar with and trust (gruel) yet incorporates ingredients to impact nutrition and prevent HIV for their children
  • Improves the children’s nutritional status
  • Builds nutrition into the current food which could increase buy in to this food 

• Cons
  • Some may not want to change from the gruel because they believe it is nutritious
  • Some may see an outsider taking their gruel recipe as an insult and intruding on tradition. 

Potential solution #3: Move forward with establishing the cooperative and simultaneously provide education on HIV transmission, specifically on mother to child transmission via breastfeeding AND education and training related to farming with alternatives to pesticides (ie. plant a variety of species, rotate crops regularly, choose pest-resistant garden plants that provide habitat for wildlife, use gardening techniques that encourage vigorous plant growth and discourage pests).

• Ethical Principle or code: Virtue based thinking 

• Pros
  • Would have a positive impact on both cooperative goals of having an impact on the nutritional status of children and livelihoods of the families involved
  • May decrease HIV/AIDS transmission as mothers increase education
  • May increase participation in the cooperative as the food is safe to eat

• Cons
  • May not decrease HIV/AIDS transmission as fathers don’t receive the education and do not change behavior

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – engineering codes of ethics, previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection.

This case provides an added layer of complexity with the competing issues that need to be addressed. The ethical questions related to breastfeeding or not past six months AND the families’ practice and trust with the gruel vs the donor’s intent for mothers to feed porridge creates sensitive issues to manage in order to have a successful cooperative. Like other cases, the challenge to me is viewing the situation through the context of the mothers (and men) from the East Africa region. Instead of suggesting solutions that would be aligned with my Western/American philosophy, the group discussion continuously circled backed to questioning if this would be something that the mothers/men of East Africa would see as an imposition or if it would be a true possible solution to come from them.

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that which satisfies the highest core ethical values. Explain reasoning and justify. Discuss your stance vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in the class. 

Despite the concern raised in the class discussion that the best course of action should minimize taking the venture away from its core project of establishing the cooperative, I believe that the third solution (establishing a cooperative in conjunction with HIV and pesticide free farming education) is the best course of action. The issues are too interconnected to do one (the cooperative) without addressing the others (HIV transmission and healthier crops). The cooperative is an excellent strategy that provides multiple benefits to participants and their families. To name a few of the benefits:

1. Develop the mothers’ farming and entrepreneur skills
2. Steady source of food and income for the families
3. Creates an opportunity for mothers to build their identity and have community

The additional benefits related to adding the educational components help minimize the Donor imposing their way of thinking.  Instead, the education provides the mothers with information about preventing the transmission of HIV from mother to child. They also learn about healthy farming alternatives. The education will help them make an informed decision on breastfeeding and the use of pesticides, a decision that should ultimately be theirs (and their families) to make and not the donor.

Unfortunately, the other solutions either ignore the interconnected ethical dilemmas or exclude the mothers from making an informed decision. 

Step 7: (If applicable) What are the implications of your solution on the venture. Explain the impact of your proposed solution on the venture’s technology, economic, social, and environmental aspects.

The solution to establish the cooperative, provide education related to HIV transmission from mother to child via breastfeeding, and education on pesticide free farming will have numerous impacts on the venture since it expands the strategies to accomplish the donor’s intent.

• Technology – The addition of the educational components will require an educational plan and supporting resources (collateral materials like pamphlets, presentations, and/or videos).  Additionally, all materials will need to be translated and carefully reviewed to ensure they are sensitive to East African culture.
• Economic – There will be additional costs associated with the collateral materials. Also, there will be a financial impact on the venture if additional staff/instructors are needed to facilitate the educational workshops.
• Social – The addition of an educational component to the venture may alter how the mothers (and the men in their household) view the opportunity. The addition of an educational component could be threatening if perceived by the community as a way to change their norms and customs.
• Environmental – The proposed solution would be beneficial to the environment since it will provide healthier alternatives to both cash and substance crops. The lessons learned around farming with alternatives to pesticides benefits both the consumers and the environment.

PART 2: Grassroots Diplomacy Strategy Development Methodology

Step 1: Determine the facts in the situation – obtain all of the unbiased facts possible.

• The cooperative is successful 
• Mothers make about $3 a day 
• Mothers work about 9 hours per day
• Mothers have the opportunity to sell produce grown on their small farms to the cooperative 
• Transactions (when selling their products at the public market) are at prevailing market rate
• Mothers are happy working at the cooperative
• Mothers establish a sense of community and identity
• Mothers have to turn the money over to males in the home (husband, brother, father)
• Men waste money earned by mother on alcohol and frivolous things
• The twin social outcomes of improving the nutritional status of children and the livelihoods of rural households are not being achieved 
• You (entrepreneur) are loved by the community
• You do not have direct say in the cooperative’s functioning
• You are one of seven members of the leadership team leading the operations, other six members are local women who understand the problem and want a change 
• The women are convinced that nothing can be done (about the mothers turning over their earned profits to the men) because that’s just how it works

Step 2: Define the problem and the stakeholders – those with a vested interest in the outcome.

• Mothers in East Africa 
• Infants/children
• We/Us/Me/Donor 
• The Cooperative
• Husbands/Fathers/Brothers (Men in household)

The problem: Mothers are making money and enjoying the cooperative, but are not using the money to provide nutritious diets to their families as fathers and men are using the money for alcohol and other frivolous things.

Step 3: Determine and distinguish between the personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders. 

• Mothers in East Africa 
  • Personal 
    • To not transfer HIV/AIDS to their children, to ensure their children are fed nutrition foods for growth and development, to have some level of breastfeeding and bonding in that way with their child
  • Professional 
    • To produce shelf-stable porridge and make money for their families through this venture.
• Infants/children
  • Personal: 
    • to be fed, to not contract HIV/AIDS
  • Professional: 
    • not applicable
• We/Us/Me
  • Personal
    • To feed the individual ego as a result of helping others; feel good for doing good
  • Professional 
    • To make an impact on the health and well-being of infants/children and mothers in East Africa 
• Cooperative
  • Personal
    • Ensure everyone’s children of the Cooperative are fed, support mothers grow the crops needed to create a healthier meal (porridge vs. gruel) to impact growth of children, and help minimize the spread of HIV to children 
  • Professional 
    • Produce enough supplies for the porridge
    • Want to be economically viable 
• Donor
  • Personal
    • To have a good result, increasing their positive presence and ego as an organization 
    • To grow the agency’s Goodwill
  • Professional 
    • To spark self-sufficiency efforts with families in East Africa
    • To fund efforts that decrease HIV rates of children in East Africa
    • To have that experience and have that enable future involvement in cooperatives similar to this one
• Husbands/Fathers/Brothers (Men in household) 
  • Personal 
    • They receive free money that they didn’t work for 
    • They can indulge in pleasures such as drinking with the money
    • They benefit from the crops the mothers bring home 
  • Professional 
    • They may be able to work less because the mother is bringing home money

Step 4: Formulate (at least three) alternative solutions – based on information available, to have a win-win situation for your relationship and your venture. 

• Potential Solution #1: Pay the Mothers in an alternative currency (“food stamps” or WIC)

How does it solve the problem?

The mothers are compensated in a form that minimizes misuse of the profits.  The alternative currency will limit the use of the non-cash payment only for the purchase of food – aligning use of the earned profits with the donor’s original intent to improve nutritional status of children and livelihood of the families.

o Pros

• Money is going towards feeding their families 
• Money goes to improve livelihood
• Mothers have more control over the use of the money they earn
• Mothers feel a sense of empowerment and support from the Leadership Committee

o Cons 

• Difficulty that comes with setting up a new system as an alternative to cash payment 
• Husbands/Fathers/Brothers (Men in household) might be against the system
• Husbands/Fathers/Brothers (Men in household) might discourage the women’s participation with the cooperative 

How does it save the face of those involved? 

• It saves face by preventing conflict with the men in the household who use the profits for alcohol or frivolous things instead of healthy/nutritious food for the household. The cooperative nor the mothers do not have to confront the men in the household for misuse of the profits.

Implications on relationships –

o Short-term 

• Mothers get to control their hard-earned money allowing them to have less conflict with the men in their homes
• Their families may receive more food as they spend the money on the intended use, lessing stress and conflict in the home
• Cooperative will earn more trust from the Mothers for finding a solution to the conflict that they were willing to forgo

o Long-term 

• The children (and the household members) have a more nutritious and plentiful diet.  Hence, relationships between participants, the men and the Cooperative leaders can grow and be strong.
• Decreases drinking from fathers as they cannot afford it causing longer life and increasing their health

Implications on the venture –

o Short-term 

• Is better positioned to accomplish the second goal of the venture 
• Mothers are further empowered and contributors to the household livelihood and their child/ren’s well being

o Long-term 

• create a way for money to be funded to families without male influence on the spending while focusing the money on family needs

Potential Solution #2: Engage the men in the external market responsibilities (conversations about what foods can be grown, offer jobs in the market)

How does it solve the problem? 

• • It brings the men into the conversation about feeding the children, which could influence the spending of money on the family and not on pleasures desired from the men.

o Pros

• protects the space for the mothers to maintain their sense of community and identity
• engages the entire household with the goal of improving the livelihood of the families
• better chance of sustainable behavior (with farming and managing the “business” at the market) if the venture is a shared responsibility beyond the mothers
• Men are able to earn some of the money and use that to buy their desired goods

o Cons 

• Incorporating the men, even if for just part of the venture, could limit the experience for the Mothers 
• Raises the question of who is going to take care of the children

How does it save the face of those involved?

• This solution allows women to maintain the community established with other mothers of the cooperative while allowing the men to also be providers for the household AND have discretionary earned dollars to buy their alcohol and frivolous things. The solution saves face with the men, especially, by allowing them the opportunity to be part of the venture and earn money instead of the alternative of confronting them for not assisting with the work but taking the profits.

Implications on relationships – 

o Short-term 

• Less resentment or negative feelings towards the men from the Mothers that earned the money
• Greater admiration for the leadership committee from the Mothers for finding a win-win solution

o Long-term 

• families may increase time together as they work out the cooperative (creating a stronger family unit)

Implications on the venture –

o Short-term 

• may become harder to pay men for work with funding
• Could dilute the focus initially aimed at the mothers 

o Long-term 

• creates a more well-rounded venture as both members of the household are involved in the cooperative and market, allowing for even more buy-in from the community

• Potential Solution #3: Create saving accounts for the mothers to deposit the money before leaving the cooperative and can withdraw within the workday.

How does it solve the problem? 

• This protects the mothers from having to deal with turning over their hard earned money since they would not have it as currency when they arrive at their homes.  The Collective can assume the responsibility of managing the profits, serving as a middleman between the mothers and the men taking away their profits.

o Pros 

• it keeps the money from going home to the men for alcohol 
• The money can be used for the food and family
• The women will be able to make a direct impact on the family’s livelihood and the food to impact the nutritional status of their children 

o Cons 

• men might discourage women from going if they don’t see money 
• Men might feel that the money is being withheld from them

How does it save the face of those involved?

• This solution saves face for the leadership committee since they don’t have to face a conflict with the men. Although the mothers would not confront the men or refuse to give up the money if asked, this solutions saves face since they are not even put in the situation to even have to consider refusing to give their money to the men.

Implications on relationships – 

o Short-term 

• Gives women the responsibility and choice of spending habits, thus strengthening their relationship with the cooperative and the leadership committee 

o Long-term 

• creates equity and could turn into bank accounts for women, changing societal power dynamics in a manner that is not obvious to the men

Implications on the venture –

o Short-term 

• it fulfills the goal of increasing nutritional status and livelihood of the household 

o Long-term 

• can turn into another grant to develop a bank and equity building opportunities for women in the community
• Better ensures the sustainability of the cooperative

Step 5: Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – previous cases, peers, reliance on personal experience, inner reflection

The class discussion offered similar variations of our team’s solution of providing an alternative payment to cash. Our idea of establishing an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system or a voucher system similar to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, and Children “WIC” program seemed to be a solution that resonated with the entire class.

Similar to other cases, our/my challenge with brainstorming solutions is to avoid veering too far away from the original intent of the venture. One of our alternative solutions would be to create a “bank”, which may sound simple to do but would require significant resources (ie staff, technology, record keeping systems).

Step 6: Select the best course of action – that solves the problem, saves face, and has the best short-term and long-term implications for your relationship and venture. Explain reasoning and discuss your solution vis-a-vis other approaches discussed in class.

Although all three solutions suggested by my team provide significant benefits with limited negative implications, I believe that the best course of action would be to provide an alternative form of payment (ie EBT or vouchers) to the mothers. The original intent of the venture would best be accomplished with this solution. The second suggestion of incorporating the men would be a great expansion opportunity in the future, but the immediate intent is to help mothers be able to improve the nutritional status of their children and improve the livelihoods of their households. Including the men would bring a host of challenges that would dilute resources from the main goal.

The creation of an EBT/voucher system could easily be explained by the mothers to the men, helping them save face when confronted at home. The mothers are dealing (or not) with the conflict they feel for having to turni over the money for alcohol and other frivolous things. Instead, this solution will allow the mothers to help with the nutrition of their children and the livelihood of their households.

Step 7: List the sequence of actions you will take to implement your solution.

1. Discuss the idea of establishing an EBT/voucher program with the leadership committee to secure buy-in and consensus.
2. Jointly create the rules and regulations for managing the EBT/voucher with input from the mothers and the leadership committee
3. Establish collaboration with markets/stores that the EBT/voucher program can be used in
4. Recruit volunteers/staff to manage the alternative system (maintain records, maintain partnerships, and grow network of participating markets/stores)
5. Train the mothers on the EBT/voucher system
6. Leadership Committee regularly reviews the key performance indicators (number of markets, dollars used by the mothers for food purchase, customer satisfaction)

Grassroots Diplomacy Strategy Development Methodology 

The facts in the situation – 

1. Jack is an American student at a youth center in Kenya
2. Jack will be staying for five months and is (presumably) at the beginning of his time there
3. Gifts for the children were sent by an international donor organization
4. Jack was asked to give out the gifts
5. The children believed that Jack had gotten them the gifts
6. Gifts for 196 of the children were presented publicly, but four children did not receive gifts publicly
7. The four children that did not receive gifts were given a black hat
8. The children who received the hats were given to them by the staff members, not by Jack.
9. Some of the kids blamed Jack for feeling “left out” and one kid gave Jack a nasty look
10. No one is taking responsibility for the missing gifts
11. The staff were annoyed at Jack for raising the issue and felt that he might cause problems for them in the future
12. Jack was left to resolve the problem
13. Staff is all-Kenyan, and many of them come from similar backgrounds

Define the problem and the stakeholders –

Problem(s): 

• Four children did not get a gift and no one took responsibility. How could the staff better prepare for distributing donations/gifts to all children in the center? (How can staff do a better job with empathizing with the children?)

• Four children were left out which made them feel less important than the other children. How can the children be made to feel better?
• Credit for the gifts in the eyes of the children went to Jack. How could credit for the gifts be made more clear and given to the international organization that sent them?

Stakeholders –

• Children receiving a box gift
• Children receiving a black hat
• Staff at Youth Center
• Jack
• International organization that sent gifts

Personal and professional motivations of the stakeholders – 

• Children 
  • Personal:
    • Desire to receive something valuable
    • Receive public recognition 
    • Feel included
  • Professional: N/A
• Staff at Youth Center
  • Personal: 
    • Supporting the community and helping the youth
  • Professional: 
    • Desire to be efficient
    • Desire to maintain order through strict rules
• Jack
  • Personal: 
    • Help the youth center in Kenya 
    • Make the kids feel good (resolve guilt)
  • Professional: 
    • Help him with relationship building with the children at the center
    • Maintain positive relationships with other center staff members
• International organization that sent gifts (secondary)
  • Personal: N/A
  • Professional: 
    • Raise their reputation/broadening their exposure
    • Assist meet the basic and human needs of children in Kenya

Alternative solutions – 

1. Facilitate an empathy workshop for the staff – acknowledging the problem and learning how to deal with the situation if it were to happen again

Pros 

• Important life skills and way to handle conflict
• Can make the left out kids feel more special
• Prevent the problem from recurring

Cons

• Who would lead the workshop? Jack leading the workshop could be perceived as condescending.
• Who has the time?  There is limited time to pull the staff away to provide the workshop.
• Could be perceived by the staff as they did something wrong

How does it save face of those involved?

• This solution would help save face in the future for students that could potentially be left out. The implementation of the workshop could actually “cost” face for the staff since it would address the situation from the perspective that they failed to do something.

Implications on relationships 

• Short-term – could damage the relationship between Jack and the staff.
• Long-term – although the initial experience may weaken the relationship, the long-term impact could be the opposite since staff could see the value of the training after they see the impact that better planning that results in avoiding any children feeling “less than the other”.

Implications on the venture 

• Short-term – the success of the venture is dependent on Jack’s relationship with both groups.  This solution could slow both the relationship and progress that he can make in the youth center.
• Long-term – similarly to the impact on Jack’s relationship with the staff, the long-term impact on the venture could be a positive effect. The staff would be able to look at similar future situations differently to better ensure a positive experience for all the children.

2. Provide project management training to the staff

Pros 

• Further develop the staff’s effort to run an efficient operation

Cons 

• Might run into problems with scheduling
• Might create confusion since it’s not how they have facilitated similar efforts in the past

How does it save face of those involved? 

• This solution would help save face in the future for students that could potentially be left out. The implementation of the training could actually “cost” face for the staff since it would address the situation from the perspective that they failed to do something.

Implications on relationships 

• Short-term – could weaken the relationship between Jack and the staff.
• Long-term – staff may see the benefit of the training after it has been implemented, resulting in valuing Jack’s input and training.

Implications on the venture 

• Short-term – it could have a negative impact on the venture in the short-term since it could be perceived as insulting and contrary to what the staff perceive as having an OK system.
• Long-term  – in the long run, the training could be beneficial to the youth center since it would help a staff that prides themselves on running an efficient operation.

3. Teach all the children a lesson on appreciation

Pros 

• The children should be appreciative of the gifts given the circumstances
  • “Get what you get and you don’t get upset”
• Jack may regain his social status among the children
• Jack would maintain is good standing with the staff for not approaching the dilemma from the perspective that they did something wrong

Cons 

• Not very good for the long-term impact because kids could quickly forget and the situation could present itself again
• Does not change the fact that the “left out” kids did not receive special recognition for their gifts 

How does it save face of those involved? 

• Without calling out the four children left out, the lesson can help deliver the message of appreciating any gift (no matter how small). The children can save face by not being called out specifically for their reaction to being given a hat instead of a box like the other children.  I will also help the other children save face if they are in the same situation in the future that their four friends experienced.

Implications on relationships 

• Short-term – it would prevent any damage to his relationship with the staff and could be a way to strengthen his relationship with the children.
• Long-term – this solution has the potential to strengthen the relationship as time passes since any similar situation in the future could be resolved reminding and emphasizing the importance of appreciating any gift received.

Implications on the venture 

• Short-term – providing the lesson will allow Jack the opportunity to connect with the children, having a positive impact on the venture
• Long-term – the lesson would have a positive long-term impact on the venture since it will help children at the center better deal with the situation repeating itself, which has a very high probability it will repeat itself.

Other potential solutions:

1. Do nothing and let the children move on
2. Hype up the symbolic value of the hat!
3. Talk to the kids about the hats in a public forum in order to give them recognition.
4. Ask the staff to hold another ceremony after dinner the next day in order to give the children the public recognition they missed out on.

Seek additional assistance, as appropriate – 

The group and class discussion provided various insights and solutions for this case. The discussion made it clear that the idea to hype up the hat solution would be one of the best ways to resolve this conflict. It was especially helpful to reflect on recognizing that the “best” solution should be made through the perspective of the Kenyan people.  Many of the solutions offered were from the American perspective on what is socially acceptable and how to correct the situation.

The best course of action – 

Although we identified numerous possible solutions, the best course of action would be the option discussed in class – to somehow elevate the value of the hat by simply wearing it. The four children would feel better about their “simple” gift after seeing that the staff (Jack) is wearing the same hat.  Jack’s simple action helped elevate the significance of the hat without attempting to change the practice of the staff or an explicit lesson to students. His action is an example on how to save face since staff nor students were called out for their behavior or (as in our opinion) lack of response to the situation.

The sequence of “best” actions to implement the solution –

• Speak with the staff to hear their perspective on the situation – not identifying it as a problem but simply ask them what is the practice for dealing with the situation where some children do not receive donated gift like the other students
• Honor their advise on what, if any, steps are taken to address the situation
• After better understanding their norms and practices, consider a similar solution to what was shared in class – as the “guest” in the community, wearing a similar hat will show the four students that were left out in the formal recognition ceremony also feel special.

Lesotho Ethics Case

Step 1: The Facts.

• Bringing 10 researchers to Lesotho in Southern Africa to conduct research
• Will travel throughout Lesotho for a 2 week duration to different communities
• Need to test their water source for a harmful pathogen
• Researchers need community members to show them locations of water sources and where and how to store the water
• Researchers will offer community participants a ride to water location site
• Researchers are expecting to publish

Ethical Issue(s): 

• Is it ethical to ask for time and knowledge of locals without compensation for identifying water sources? 

• Being present in the country for two weeks when they don’t know if they are welcome
• Would this set a precedent for other researchers to exploit locals in the name of conducting research?

Step 2: Stakeholders.

• Researchers (Primary Stakeholders)
• Locals (Primary Stakeholders)
• People in other areas that the pathogen is present (Secondary Stakeholders)
• Funding agency/university (Secondary Stakeholders)

Step 3: Motivation of Stakeholders.

• Researchers
  • Personal: Self esteem improvement and confidence in their own knowledge, notoriety and respect in general; boosted ego to have been part of a team that solved an issue to meet basic needs of a significant population
  • Professional: Paper publications increase their chances for promotion, and will lead to other academics in this area to respect them more
• Locals
  • Personal: access to safe drinking water, recognition from other locals for being part of the “research team”
  • Professional: may lose money if this time takes away from work. 
• People in other areas that the pathogen is present
  • Personal: access to safe drinking water, the research may reduce costs burdens for other areas as they can uptake found knowledge from the experiment of the case study
  • Professional: Networking possibility with those involved in this venture
• Funding agency/University
  • Personal: This is a general body, not necessarily “personal” motive
  • Professional: Increased exposure for the organization, Resulting high quality publications may lead to larger grants for the home organization. Prestige to have funded such an important and life-saving project.

Step 4: Alternative solutions.

Solution 1: Pay the locals to assist with the study.

• Ethical Principle/Code: Duty based
• Pros
  • Locals are paid for their time and have a better quality of life
  • Locals benefit directly from this partnership
  • Paying the locals may increase interest in participation
  • Recognize the value that locals provide and show respect for their time commitment
• Cons
  • Could create some power dynamics if the payment method is inappropriate or too extravagant
  • Costs more money
  • May have too many people interested, have to turn away some causing conflict and negative emotions around the team from the community 

Solution 2: Conduct research without the locals.

• Ethical Principle/Code: Utilitarianism
• Pros
  • No locals need to lose work time or work money to participate anymore
  • Researchers will get more hands-on experience locating and understanding the water. 
• Cons
  • No stakeholders within the community will be utilized hindering the community involvement needed for a more efficient study
  • It might look bad when publishing studies that no community members will be contacted and look like a “drop in study” that is not benefiting the community. 
  • Study would be more challenging without the knowledge the locals provide related to the water source locations
  • Data could be less comprehensive if water sources are missed without the knowledge of the locals

Solution 3: Collaborate with the National University of Lesotho to come up with a joint plan.

• Ethical Principle/Code: 
• Pros
  • Researchers can be more secure that their methods will be accepted by the locals
  • The locals will likely be more comfortable with participating in the research 
  • More connections and partners on the ground are flourished as a positive consequence 
• Cons
  • This plan probably requires more time and engagement on the part of the researchers
  • The original team may not have the funds to pay for this large of a partnership causing the team to readjust the budget and drop important items that could lower the rigor of the research.

Step 5: Additional assistance.

The group further discussed and identified a local university in Lesotho as a way to build credibility for the research team. Also, the addition of the local university would allow the research efforts related to the water study and skills developed by the locals to continue beyond the time the external research team is in the country.

Step 6: Best course of action!

I suggest that we do a combination of paying the locals and partner with a local university. Both actions are changes to the original play since additional dollars are needed for the compensation and additional time must be invested to establish a partnership with the local university. However, the additional funds and time are critical for the success of the project AND to design a research project that is most ethical. In determining pay, the team would need to enlist input from the local university to best determine what to offer for compensation and how to go about selecting the locals. As noted in our discussion, compensation can be a number of things (financial, goods, or training). The alternative to not use locals in the study in order to avoid paying them is short-sighted since they are a critical component of the design.  Without the locals, the research team ability to collect the best data is significantly decreased.

Step 7: Implications of the solution.

The solution to both pay locals for their participation and involve the local university will have multiple impact on the venture.

• Technological~
  • The technical parts of this study will require the use of technological instruments. Including locals will require the researcher team to plan for time to train them on how to correctly use the tools and collect water samples.  Additionally, the research team will need to plan to have sufficient instruments for the larger team – both for the training and actual sample collection.
• Social ~
  • The blending of an external team along with local representatives (residents and the university) will impact the learning experience beyond the information learned from collecting data. All participants have knowledge/expertise/experience to offer the others, which will impact how everyone walks away from the experience – grown both academically and personally.
• Economic ~
  • The decision to pay locals (in a mode to be determined) will have a direct impact in the lives of those individuals and their immediate household! Additionally, the inclusion of the local university will create a possible path for the locals to continue on the path of learning/research/work.
• Environmental ~
  • Again, the decision to include both locals and a local university will have a direct impact on the study by helping provide the best scenario to collect comprehensive data and sustainability for ongoing research. The ultimate goal of the research is to develop chemical additives that make the water safe to drink – this is the biggest impact on the environment we can hope for as a result of combining our research team with locals in Lesotho and a local university!

State of Save Tuba – Blog #1 FALL 2021

App development 

• Coding 

Most significant milestone: Fully coded level 5, which was used as a demo for the Kazakh officials that will help integrate the app into middle school curricula

Current state of the work: Implemented graphics for the home screen and levels 3 through 5, implemented 3 different types of educational games (word search, true/false, and MCQs) for the aforementioned levels, added camera function to capture real-life activities 

Milestones for this semester: Finish coding levels 1 through 4 (realistic goal), finish coding all levels (ambitious goal) 

• Design 

Most significant milestone: The graphics that will be used for each level have been finalized (with the exception of the Achievements & Badges graphics)

Current state of work: Designed graphics for each level, implemented updated design for home screen, working to figure out how to make educational videos

Milestones for this semester: Finalize educational videos for first four levels (realistic goal), complete graphics for Achievements & Badges section of the app, finalize educational videos for all levels (ambitious goal)

• Curriculum

Most significant milestone: Developed a full curriculum for the app

Current state of work: Created a spreadsheet that outlines the whole curriculum, finalized educational content for levels 1, 4, and 5, finalized MCQs and Action Tasks (3 and 5) for every level

Milestones for this semester: 1. Finalize the rest of the action tasks/educational content   2. This ties in with the following “validation” category, but our biggest goal would be to further develop the curriculum under the guidance of experts at the Ministry of Education, and have a final version that matches their vision by the end of the semester 

Validation/implementation

Focus groups for Beta version will be conducted during the Fall semester. After completing the coding for levels 1 through 4, the team will execute on the Beta version focus groups.

Establishing ties with the Ministry of Education

Continued partnership with AlmaU colleagues to finalize design, app content, and focus groups.

IRB – application was finalized over the summer and will be submitted in the early Fall to ensure we can collect data via the Beta focus groups that can be used to publish progress and lessons learned with the app.

Teacher Manual – a new component of our venture! In preparation to engage and support teachers with adopting the use of the app, we completed a draft guide for teachers to use as they plan to implement the app in their classrooms. The manual provides background on the venture, full copies of the scripts for each level, vocabulary lists for each level and subtopic, and detailed descriptions of the various Action Tasks at each level.